Report: Bitter defeat at Anfield | OneFootball

Proud of my Atlético de Madrid. That should be the title of this article. A tough defeat at Anfield (3-2)… but only halfway. And beyond the three points (or the point lost if the draw had been maintained), for me the most important thing is the image.

Traveling to Liverpool, one of the giants of the competition, without five of your key starting eleven players able to play (no Hancko, no Julián, no Cardoso, no Almada, and not even Baena), and playing a great match against Liverpool, giving everything they had, and never losing sight of the match.

But the pride of having achieved the draw and being very close to scoring points comes after a horrible start, with two goals conceded in the fifth minute.

A foul by Lenglet on the edge of the box gave Salah the chance to strike at Atleti for the first time. But not thanks to a masterful execution by the Egyptian, who sent the ball low towards the goalkeeper’s side, causing a rebound between Robertson and Barrios, leaving the ball almost dead heading towards the goal, with Oblak unable to prevent it from going in.

Atleti didn’t take control of the ball, and Liverpool took advantage of the confusion as Salah danced past the defense and scored a great goal, making the worst seem likely. The home side could have done more damage, but from that point on, control of the game shifted a bit more towards the red-and-white side.

That led to situations where we reached the opponent’s area, especially through Giuliano and Marcos Llorente, who were the ones who created the most danger, but without being able to fully connect with Griezmann or Raspadori for clear shots on goal.

In the 34th minute, a dangerous situation arose, with Frimpong trying to cross into the area, but Lenglet cut off the trajectory, and the referee awarded a penalty for a handball by the Frenchman. A non-existent handball, which VAR corrected, confirming there was nothing in the play, beyond a corner kick.

And survival came into the match, with chances from Isak and Frimpong that didn’t come to fruition, which gave us the opportunity to enjoy the first goal from Marcos Llorente, thanks to his connection with Raspadori.

Atleti’s goal gave wings and (well-founded) hope for the second half.

Llorente made us dream, but Liverpool turned it into a nightmare

In the second half, we experienced both heaven and hell. There were periods of ball control by both Liverpool and Atleti. But the difference was that there were no clear chances to trouble the home keeper, while Liverpool saw Salah hit the post in the 64th minute and Ekitike sent the ball over the bar in the 66th minute, with another chance in the 71st.

But the reward for perseverance and survival came in the 81st minute, with another goal from Llorente at his favorite ground, catching a volley on the edge of the area, and just after having another chance minutes earlier.

But a wounded Liverpool bottled Atleti up to exhaustion, launching corner after corner, and in the 91st minute Van Dijk connected with a header and scored the decisive goal.

I don’t know if the result was unfair, cruel, if the important thing was to score points or if the great image is enough for us. We mustn’t forget the absences and how much this team can grow, but the decision-making when finishing plays wasn’t good and needs to improve, as well as the defensive lapses that raised a wall very difficult to climb (two goals conceded) in just five minutes.

A lot to improve, a lot of room to grow, very proud of the team, but Simeone needs to analyze a lot to adjust the play, the starting eleven (more or less fixed in a packed calendar), the substitutions, etc.

And to know that the important thing is that we are in the early stages of the season, that the important part of the Champions League is not now, that finishing among the top 24 is more than enough (and if not, just ask PSG), but just like in La Liga, in the Champions League you have to start getting into gear and scoring points right away.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.